Despite the self-engineered failure of Paul Ryan’s Obamcare replacement bill, the GOP must come together to replace the health care legislation one way or another. The GOP has laid out succinctly just how bad the bill has been for the American people, and a repeal is necessary. And the American people have demanded just that; first by giving the GOP the house in 2010, then by giving them the Senate in 2014, and finally by giving them the presidency in 2016. Americans have made their dissatisfaction with Obamacare quite clear, and despite a short-term failure, it must be repealed. Insurance companies simply can’t operate in the broken Obamacare system. Here’s a dose of Obamacare-reality:
For Plan Year 2017, The Number Of Insurers On Obamacare Exchanges In All States Is Down To 228 From 298 In 2016, A 23% Drop From The Previous Year. (“Health Plan Choice And Premiums In The 2017 Health Insurance Marketplace,” Department Of Health And Human Services , 10/24/16)
Several Major Health Insurers Opted To Abandon The Obamacare Exchanges “In All But A Handful Of States” For 2017. “The announcements come at a time of uncertainty for health insurance markets nationwide, with several major health insurers opting to abandon the exchanges in all but a handful of states.” (Edgar Walters, “Health Insurers’ Exit Spells Trouble For Obamacare In Texas,” The Texas Tribune , 8/24/16)
In Many Parts Of The Country, Americans Signing Up For Obamacare Will Have Only One Insurer As Their Only Option In The Marketplace. “In many parts of the country, Obamacare customers will be down to one insurer when they go to sign up for coverage next year on the public exchanges.” (Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz, “Obamacare Options? In Many Parts of Country, Only One Insurer Will Remain,” The New York Times , 8/19/16)
- Five States Are Served Entirely By Only One Insurer. “But large areas have limited choice, like the five states that now have only one issuer: Alabama, Alaska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming.” (Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz, “Obamacare Options? In Many Parts of Country, Only One Insurer Will Remain,” The New York Times , 8/19/16)
- One-Third Of All Counties Have Just One Insurer On The Marketplace In 2017. “More bad news for customers of the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare marketplaces: According to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, almost a third of counties will have just one insurer participating in the exchanges by 2017, significantly more than the 7% of counties who had one option this year.” (Alicia Adamczyk, “One-Third Of Counties Will Have Just One Obamacare Insurer By 2017,” Time , 8/29/16)
- Thirty-Six Percent Of Markets Have Only One Insurer Participating On Their Exchange In 2017, And Fifty-Five Percent Have Two Or Fewer Choices. “Nearly 36% of markets may have only one insurer participating on the exchanges, up from 4% this year, according to an analysis by Avalere Health, a consulting company. And nearly 55% may have two or fewer choices, up from 33% in 2016.” (Tami Luhby, “Choices Dwindling For Obamacare Customers,” CNN , 8/24/16)
Experts Have Predicted Some States May Not Have Any Insurers Selling Health Plans On Their Exchanges In 2018. “Unless the government promises to continue subsidies and other features of the law for at least another year, some states probably will not have any insurers selling health plans to individuals buying coverage on their own for 2018, the witnesses warned at a Senate hearing.” (Amy Goldstein, “Health Insurers Warn Of Wider Defections From ACA Marketplaces For 2018,” The Washington Post , 2/1/17)
Humana Announced That They Would Stop Selling Policies On Obamacare Exchanges In 2018. “Humana (HUM) announced it is pulling out of Obamacare for 2018 on Tuesday, the same day it ended a merger agreement with Aetna (AET).” (Tami Luhby, “Humana Pulls Out Of Obamacare For 2018,” CNN , 2/14/17)
Read more of this grisly fare here.
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